British Journalist David Haines beheaded!

[HarmanKardon]

This madness seems to become routine!

And ISIS say that they will kill even further British hostages...

Obama: "The United States stand shoulder to shoulder with Britain!"

---------------------------

Edit: Haines was no journalist, he worked for an aid organization.

[merrylander]

Yet when I suggest bombing these murderers forward into the stone age everyone gets their knickers in a twist.

[nailer]

Originally Posted by merrylander

Yet when I suggest bombing these murderers forward into the stone age everyone gets their knickers in a twist.

I agree - nuke the bastards back into a new stone age. Otherwise significant ground action will be required to dislodge ISIS, let alone destroy it.

Any effective response to ISIS will require Arab leadership, not US.

[donquixote99]

Originally Posted by nailer

I agree - nuke the bastards back into a new stone age. Otherwise significant ground action will be required to dislodge ISIS, let alone destroy it.

Any effective response to ISIS will require Arab leadership, not US.

Ye Gods. All these guys have to do is kill three white people, in a grandstanding nasty way, and people are seriously saying nuclear genocide is the answer. Get a fucking grip.

[HarmanKardon]

Originally Posted by donquixote99

Ye Gods. All these guys have to do is kill three white people, in a grandstanding nasty way, and people are seriously saying nuclear genocide is the answer. Get a fucking grip.

Appropriate measures are necessary, they could hardly expressed by bar-room slogans.

[donquixote99]

Originally Posted by HarmanKardon

Appropriate measures are necessary, they could hardly expressed by bar-room slogans.

I reserve the right to overreact to OTT barroom slogans.

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by donquixote99

Ye Gods. All these guys have to do is kill three white people, in a grandstanding nasty way, and people are seriously saying nuclear genocide is the answer. Get a fucking grip.

All I'm saying is that when we do go to war, we should fight it to win and stop mucking about with it. The whole "surgical strike" and "limited response" thing just is not working. But, I do agree that we need to restrain ourselves from developing an itchy finger, shooting at anything that looks like it might become a threat. That's no good either.

Dave

[donquixote99]

Originally Posted by BlueStreak

All I'm saying is that when we do go to war, we should fight it to win and stop mucking about with it. The whole "surgical strike" and "limited response" thing just is not working. But, I do agree that we need to restrain ourselves from developing an itchy finger, shooting at anything that looks like it might become a threat. That's no good either.

Dave

I assume you're talking about winning the traditional American US Grant way. Unconditional surrender. But let's look at what that really requires. You have to kill, destroy, and occupy massively and thoroughly. The population must be in fear for the biological survival of the nation.

For example, by the time WWII was over, 8 to 10 percent of all Germans were dead. Historically, conquered nations have often lost 20% or more of their population.

So, in rough numbers, doing the job to ISIS might mean killing 10% of the Sunni populations of Iraq and Syria, very roughly, maybe 2 million or so. Mostly civilians, ISIS doesn't have vast armies mobilized, they just have a fairly unlimited ability to draw more fighters from the population.

So, kill 2 million, 'win the war.' Up for that?

War is a blunt instrument anyway, and making unconditional surrender the goal makes it really blunt. I've nothing but admiration for leadership that goes to war reluctantly and in a limited way, if that will do the job.

ISIS's greatest strength is the way they can mobilize a virulent right wing here to do enormous political damage, just by killing two Americans.

[Rajoo]

"I have ordered the Iraqi air force to halt shelling of civilian areas even in those towns controlled by ISIS [the Islamic State militant group]."
- Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Abadi

Politics at play already. And he is hoping that the US will go along and if we don't? We know how well that played out in the past.

[merrylander]

I really don't comprehend all the discussion. If you have termites in the beams of the house you call an exterminator. You certainly do not debate the rights of the termites.